Multiple sign arrangement for use with taximeters or the like



W. HAUPT Aug. 4, 1959 MULTIPLE S IGN ARRANGEMENT FOR USEWITH TAXIMEITERSOR THE LIKE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 14, 1956 INVENTOR /MM MW mm s. M

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR whim HM M 'M 6 3% MW Aug. 4., 1959 w. HAUPTMULTIPLE SIGN ARRANGEMENT FOR USE WITH TAXIMETERS OR THE LIKE Filed Nov.14, 1sss mm a i l l I I l I I l l l ll QN m mm wm m? D r An Lw v fi f w2 United States MULTIPLE SIGN ARRANGEMENT FOR USE WITH TAXllVIETERS RTl-E LIKE Application November 14, 1956, Serial No. 622,139

Claims priority, application Great Britain November 14, 1955 6 Claims.(Cl. 40-52) The present invention relates to multiple sign arrangements.

For example, in taxicabs multiple signs are used in order to indicatewhether the cab is hired, for hire, or simply stopped. At the presenttime signs of this type suffer from several defects. Thus, they are notclearly visible at night and also the mechanisms for rendering one signof the plurality of signs available visible at any given time arerelatively complex.

One of the objects of the present invention is to overcome the abovedrawbacks by providing a multiple sign with an extremely simplemechanism capable of reliably rendering one of a plurality of dilferentsigns visible at any given time.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a sign of thistype which can be used with a taximeter and which can be operated from acontrol on the taximeter which may, if desired, be combined with aconventional taximeter control.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a multiple signarrangement of the above type where in the various signs becomeseparately visible by the use of slides which need move only through avery short distance.

With the above objects in view the present invention mainly consists ofa multiple sign arrangement capable of being used with taximeters or thelike, this arrangement including a panel having thereon a plurality ofdiiferent inscriptions which are visible on the face of the panel. Aslide means overlaps this one face of the panel and is shiftable withrespect thereto between a plurality of positions at which the severalinscriptions are respectively visible separately. A manually operablepositioning means is operatively connected to the slide means to enablethe operator to selectively position the slide means in one of itspositions where a selected one of the signs is rendered visible.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for theinvention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. Theinvention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method ofoperation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, willbe best understood from the following description of specificembodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a multiple sign arrangementaccording to the present invention, the front rim of the casing of Fig.1 being omitted in order to clearly illustrate the structure;

Fig. 2 shows the structure of Fig. 1 with the parts thereof in aposition diiferent from that of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 also shows the structure of Fig. 1 but with the parts thereof ina third position;

Fig. 4 is a sectional elevational View taken along line IV--IV of Fig. 3in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional elevational view illustrating thestructure for moving a slide of the invention and for guiding the slidefor movement; and

atent "ice Fig. 6 is a wiring diagram of the electrical structure foroperating the multiple sign arrangement of the invention.

Referring now to Figs. 1-3 of the drawings, it will be seen that themultiple sign structure of the invention includes a casing 1 in which islocated a stationary panel 4 on whose front face are visible threeinscriptions made up of three rows of indicia. The upper row of indiciaforms the word For. The second row of indicia forms a pair of words.Thus, it will be seen from the drawings that the indicia which form theword Hired alternate with the indicia which forms the word Hire.Finally, the bottom third row of indicia carried by panel 4 forms theword Stopped. It will be noted from Figs. 1-3 that the indicia of theseveral inscriptions are spaced from each other through predetermineddistances. The first of the three inscriptions is composed, in theembodiment illustrated, of the two words For Hire, whereas the secondand third inscriptions are composed of single words, respectivelyreading Hired and Stopped.

The panel 4 is fixed in the interior of the casing 1 in any suitable wayand is preferably made of an opaque material, while the indicia is madeof a material through which light may pass such as a suitabletranslucent plastic, glass, or the like, and the indicia may be locatedin suitably shaped openings of the panel 4 so that when a light behindthe panel is illuminated, the light will shine through the indicia inorder to render the indicia clearly visible at night.

The front face of the panel 4 is overlapped by a slide means which isshiftable between a plurality of positions for separately rendering theseveral inscriptions visible, respectively, and this slide means takesthe form of a pair of slides 2 and 3. The uper slide 2 has a lowerportion which overlaps an upper portion of the lower slide 3. The upperslide 2 has an upper portion extending beyond the upper edge of thelower slide 3 and formed with a row of apertures 13 which alternate withthe indicia 5 in the rest position of the slide 2 which is indicated inFig. 1. At its lower portion which overlaps the upper portion of theslide 3, the slide 2 is formed with a second row of apertures 13 throughwhich the indicia 6 forming the word Hired are visible, when the partsare in the position of Fig. 1.

The lower slide 3 is formed with a lower row of apertures 19 which inthe rest position of the slide 3 alternate with the indicia forming theword Stopped, and this slide 3 'has in its portion which is locatedbehind the slide 2 a row of apertures 21 through which the letters 5 ofthe word Hire are visible when the parts have the position shown in Fig.3.

The upper slide 2 has at its opposite upper end portions a pair of lugs8 and 9 which extend rearwardly from the front face of the slide 2. Thelower slide 3 has at its lower right and left ends a .pair of rearwardlyextending lugs 14 and 15. A pair of pins 11 and 12 are fixed to theright wall of the casing 1, as viewed in Fig. 1, and extend through apair of openings in the lug 9 so as to guide the slide'2 for movement tothe right and left, as viewed in Fig. 1, the pair of pins 11 and 12serving not only to guide the slide for movement to the right and leftbut also to prevent turning of the slide. In the same way a pair of pins17 and 18 fixed to the right wall of the casing 1, as viewed in Fig. 1,extend through a pair of openings of the lug 15 to guide the slide 3 formovement to the right and left.

As may be seen most clearly from Figs. 4 and 5, a pair of electromagnets28 and 29 are located in the casing 1, the electromagnet 28 having amagnetic return yoke 26 fixed to the rear wall of the casing 1, whilethe electromagnet 29 has a magnetic return yoke 27 fixed to the rearwall of the casing 1. The electromagnet 28 has an armature which extendsthrough thelug 8 of the slide 2 and which carries at the left face ofthe lug 8, as viewed in Fig. 5, a washer which prevents the lug 8 frommoving to ,the left with respect to the armature 10, as viewedin Fig. 5.A coil spring 22 surrounds the armature It and bears against the lug 8and the yoke 26 so as to urge the armature 10 together with the slide 2to the left, as viewed in Fig. 5. The yoke 26 furthermore carries ascrew 34 which may be turned in order to adjust the stroke of thearmature 10.

In the sameway, the electromagnet 29 carries an arinature'16 which isconnected to the lug 14 of the slide 3 in the same way thatthe armature10 is connected to the lug 8 of theyslide 2, and a coil spring 23 iscoiled about the armature 16 and urges the latter together with theslide 3 to the left, as viewed in Figs. 1-3.

.When. the .electromagnets 28 and 29 are not energized the springs 22and23 locate the slides 2 and 3 in their rest position which is illustratedin Fig. 1.

A pair of light bulbs 30 and '31 are mounted in suitable sockets locatedwithin the casing 1 behind the panel 4 so that when the light bulbs areilluminated they will light up the inscriptions so that they will beeasily visible at night. The inscriptions formed by the indicia 5, 6,and 7 are preferably made of a light color such as white and the panel 4is itself made of a dark color, and the slides themselves have thesamecolor as the panel 4 so that the edges of the apertures of the slidesare not visible.

The current is transmitted to the light bulbs 30 and 31 through themedium of springy electrical contact members 32 and 33 shown in Fig. 4.

A wiring diagram of the structure of the invention is shown in Fig. 6.This electrical structure includes a manually operable switch 35 whichis located in and forms part of a taximeter. This switch has threeangularly spaced contacts 37, 40 and 39. The switch also includes arotary switch contact member 36 which may be turned to engage either ofthe contacts 37, 40 or 39 at the will of the operator. The contact 37 isconnected through a lead 38 with the electromagnet 28, while the contact39 is connected through alead 38 with the electromagnet 29. Therotatable contact member 36 is electrically connected with a suitablesource of current such as the battery of a taxicab, and the light bulbs30 and 31 are also connected to this battery, as indicated in Fig. 6. Aseparate switch which is used to illuminate the dial of the taximeter inthe interior of the cab is connected in the circuit of the bulbs 30 and31 so that the latter are illuminated whenever the taxi-meter itself isilluminated. Thelcontact 40 is simply an intermediate contact where thecircuit to the solenoids 28 and 29 is broken so that both solenoids 28and 29 are unenergized when the movable contact member 36 engages thecontact 49. On the other hand, when the movable contact, member 36engages the contact 37 the solenoid 28 is energized while when thecontact 36 engages the contact 39 the solenoid 29 is energized.

The above-described structure'operatesas follows:

The operation of the lights for illuminating the multiple sign hasalready been described above. Assuming that a cab is stopped, then theoperator of the cab moves the movable. contact 36 into engagement withthe contact 39 so as to. energize the electromagnet 29, and this willcause the slide 3 to shift from the rest position thereof shown in Fig.1 to the operating position thereof shown in Fig. 2, the slide 2remaining in its rest position. As a result, the apertures 19 becomealigned with the indicia 7, and therefore the inscription Stoppedbecomes visible, as is evident from Fig. 2. Moreover, it will be seenfrom Fig. 1 that in the rest position of the slides 2 and 3theinscription Hired is visible both through the apertures 21 andthrough the lower row of apertures 13. The shifting of the slide 3 fromthe rest position thereof shown in Fig. l to the operating positionthereof'shown in Fig. 2 causes the slide 3 to cover the indicia 6, andas a result only the lowermost inscription is visible through throughthe apertures 19 when the solenoid 29 is energized. Also, it will benoted that in order to accomplish this result it was only necessary forthe slide 3 to shift to a distance approximately equal to the width ofone of the openings 19.

Assuming now that the cab is hired out, then the operator simply movesthe contact 36 into engagement with the contact 49, and both of thesolenoids 28 and 29 are unenergized, so that the parts have theposit-ion shown in Fig. 1. Inthis position of the parts only theinscription Hired is visible, as is pointed out above. The indicia 6which forms this inscription are located in the left portions of theopenings 21, and the right portions of the openings 21 are covered bythe slide 2 when the latter is in its rest position, as is evident fromFig. 1, so that the letters which form the inscription Hire are notvisible at this time. It will be noted that in its rest position theslide 2 leaves the left portion of the openings 21 uncovered in order torender the inscription Hired visible.

When the operator of the cab wishes to hire out the cab, then he movesthe contact 36 into engagement with the contact 37 so as to energize thesolenoid 28, and this causes the slide 2 to be shifted from the positionof Fig. l to that of Fig. rest position at this time. This shifting ofthe slide 2 causes the indicia 5 to become aligned with the aperture 13,so that the inscription For Hire becomes visible. Furthermore, it willbe noted that the shifting of the slide 2 to the right from the positionof Fig. l to that of Fig. 3 causes the slide 2 tocover the left portionsof the apertures 21 so that the inscription Hired is covered. The lastletter of this latter inscription is located in a separate narroweropening of the slide 3, as is evident particularly from Fig. 1.

Thus, with the structure of the invention an arrangement is providedwhere the slides need only move through a distance aproximately equal tothe width of an openmg thereof in order to produce the desired result.With a pair of these slides it is possible to render any one of threedifierent inscriptions visible at any given time.

Fig. 4 shows a front rim 24 fixed to the casing 1 and supporting thereona front transparent glass plate 25.

The invention is not limited to the above described form represented inthe drawings. It is also possible to make the arrangement such that the.inscription For Hire will be visible when both coils are demagnetised,the inscription Hired then appearing when one of the 0011s is energized.Which of the two solutions will eventually be chosen will largely dependon the local demand for taxis, that is to say whether on an average thetaxis are for a longer time in the For Hire than in the Hired state orvice versa.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or twoor more together, may also find a useful application in other types ofmultiple signs differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied inmultiple signs for taximeters or the like, it is not intended to belimited to the details shown, since various modifications and structuralchanges may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of thepresent invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist ofthe present invention that others can by applying current knowledgereadily adapt it for various applications without omitting featuresthat, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essentialcharacteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this inventionand, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to becomprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of thefollowing claims.

3, the slide 3 remaining in its What is claimed as new and desired to besecured by Letters Patent is:

1. A multiple sign arrangement for use with taximeters or the like,comprising, in combination, a panel carrying three inscriptions whichare visible on one face of said panel; a pair of slides overlapping saidone face of said panel; means supporting said slides for shiftingmovement between a reset position and an operating position, said slideseach being separately shiftable between its reset and operatingposition, and said slides rendering only one of two of said inscriptionsvisible when one of said slides is in its operating position while theother slide is in its rest position and rendering only the other of saidtwo inscriptions visible when said one slide is in its rest positionwhile the other slide is in its operating position while the third ofsaid inscriptions remains invisible, and said slides rendering only thethird inscription visible when both slides are in their rest position;and manually operable means operatively connected to said slides forselectively shifting the same to said positions thereof.

2. A multiple sign arrangement for use in taximeters or the like,comprising, in combination, a first slide formed with first and secondrows of apertures; means supporting said first slide for shiftingmovement between a rest position and an operating position; a secondslide overlapping only the portion of said first slide formed with saidfirst row of apertures, said second slide being formed with a third rowof apertures overlapping said first row of apertures, respectively, andsaid second slide being shiftable between a rest position, where, whilesaid first slide is in its rest position, said second slide respectivelycovers first parts of said first row of apertures and where second partsof said first row of apertures are visible through said third row ofapertures, and an operating position, where, while said first slide isin its rest position, said second slide covers said second parts of saidfirst row of apertures and where said first parts of said first row ofapertures are visible through said third row of apertures; meanssupporting said second slide for shifting movement between saidpositions thereof; a panel carrying a first row of indicia visiblethrough said second row of apertures of said first slide only when thelatter is in said operating position thereof, a second row of indiciavisible through said second parts of said first row of apertures andsaid third row of apertures of said second slide when the latter andsaid first slide are in their rest positions, and a third row of indiciaalternating with said second row of indicia and visible through saidfirst parts of said first row of apertures and said third apertures ofsaid second slide when the latter is in said operating position thereofwhile said first slide is in its rest position, said first slidecovering said second row of indicia when said first slide is in itsoperating position; and means operatively connected to said slides forselectively placing only one of said slides in its operating position atany given time, so that when both slides are in their rest positionsonly said second row of indicia is visible, when said first slide is insaid operating position thereof only said first row of indicia isvisible, and when said second slide is in said operating positionthereof only said third row of indicia is visible.

3. A multiple sign arrangement as recited in claim 2 and wherein saidsecond slide has a portion extending beyond said first slide and formedwith a row of apertures and wherein said panel has an additional row ofindicia visible through the latter row of apertures only when saidsecond slide is in its operating position.

4. A multiple sign arrangement as recited in claim 2 and wherein saidfirst row of indicia reads Stopped," and wherein said first slide has aportion located beyond said second slide and formed with an additionalaperture located in said first row of apertures and covered by saidsecond slide when the latter is in said operating position, said firstrow of indicia reading Hired.

5. A multiple sign arrangement as recited in claim 4 and wherein saidthird row of indicia reads Hire and wherein said second slide has aportion extending beyond said first slide and formed with a row of threeapertures and wherein said panel carries a row of indicia reading Forvisible through said three apertures only when said second slide is inits operating position, so that said second slide when it is in itsoperating position while said first slide is in its rest position willrender the inscription For Hire visible.

6. A multiple sign arrangement for use with taximeters or the likecomprising, in combination, a stationary panel carrying indicia whichform at least three inscriptions visible on one face of said panel, atleast two of said inscriptions being formed at least in part by a singlerow of indicia with the indicia of each inscriptions in said rowalternating with the indicia of the other in scriptions in said row; afirst slide having a longitudinal edge portion overlapping said singlerow of indicia and being formed at least in said edge portion with a rowof aperture; a second slide having a longitudinal edge portionoverlapping the longitudinal edge portion of said first slide and beingformed at least with a row of apertures overlapping the row of aperturesformed in said edge portion of said first slide, at least the aperturesin one of said slides having a width at least equal to the width of atleast two of adjacent indicia in said single row; means supporting saidslides for shifting movement in longitudinal direction between aplurality of positions where said inscriptions are separately visible,respectively; and manually operable means operatively connected to saidslides for selectively shifting the same to one of said positionsthereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS803,348 Lebeis Oct. 31, 1905 903,719 Herrmann Nov. 10, 1908 926,393Dirking June 29, 1909 1,138,834 Bell May 11, 1915 1,308,658 Carr July 1,1919 FOREIGN PATENTS 441,846 Great Britain Jan. 29, 1936 745,358 FranceMay 10, 1933

